Monthly Archives: February 2013

The Credo section of the Washington Examiner newspaper featured an interview with Brother Timothy Danaher, OP, on Feb. 23. Br. Timothy is preparing for the priesthood at the Dominican Province of St. Joseph’s House of Studies in Washington, D.C. From Dominican Daily. Read more

Sister Catherine Stewart, OP (Springfield) has recently published a new book on the saints through Twenty-Third Publications, in their Learning Centers format. The book is intended for use with elementary students in religious education and includes interactive activities to teach children about the lives of the saints.

The following interview with Sister Catherine is reprinted with permission from JustWords, a publication of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois.

What prompted you to write this book?

I often write articles for “Religion Teacher’s Journal: A Catechist’s Way.” Roseanne Coffey, the editor of the journal, asked me if I had ever considered writing a book. She and I talked about it for a bit and then she submitted my most recent article to the acquisition team for Twenty Third Publications. They were very interested in my publishing a book. I suggested the saints. Twenty Third already had a series of learning centers started and we decided that I would use that format.

What do you hope this book accomplishes?

I hope that this gives catechists and children a deeper understanding and love for the saints. I also wanted to introduce everyone to some of the recently canonized saints.

What was your favorite aspect of writing this book?

My favorite part was creating interactive activities that matched the saint’s life. For example, Kateri Tekawitha is a Native American and was baptized later in life. One of the activities is to learn about the symbols of baptism by creating a Baptism Totem Pole. Another example is Edith Stein, who was Jewish. Students learn about some of the Jewish traditions through making a Star of David Mobile.

I gained a deeper appreciation of the diversity of the saints’ lives and how each one gifts us with different values to imitate. The combination of all of their lives gives us a richer tradition of faith.

For women discerning religious life (ages 20 to 35). Saturday, March 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You are welcome to come Friday night, March 15, if you wish. On Saturday, you are invited to stay for Mass at 4:30 p.m. (Sunday’s Liturgy).

For more information, contact Sister Pat Casey at pcasey@domhou.org or 713-408-0269 before March 10.

Single, Catholic women ages 18 to 40 are invited to participate in a Religious Info Day exploring God’s call. Join us for the next Come and See March 23. Be our guest, meet the sisters, share faith and life with us, and discover the foundations of the Dominican charism. We will be meeting at St. Catherine’s Priory, 215 N. Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, CA 92805-2596.

For young men discerning a vocation to the priesthood: The friars of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph will host a “Come & See” vocation weekend April 5–7 at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. This is the weekend after Easter and will therefore coincide with Divine Mercy Sunday.

The Dominican Sisters of Peace invite you to “walk with them” through the Stations of the Cross featuring images painted by Fr. Marie-Alain Couturier, OP and reflections written by Dominican Sisters of Peace. Watch the introduction video, then watch the Stations of the Cross video with reflections (embedded above).

Sister Kathleen Gallagher, OP of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Illinois has been appointed principal of St. Peter Catholic School in Aurora, Illinois, effective July 1. Sister Kathleen was the principal at St. Peter’s from 1981–1991. During some of those years she also taught primary grades. She has been teaching second grade and also junior high religion at St. Peter’s since 2008.

Sister Kathleen has also been a principal at St. Therese in Aurora and Holy Cross in Mendota, and she was assistant principal at Holy Angels in Aurora.

“Returning to my old role here at St. Peter’s is turning out to be a gift,” Sister Kathleen says. “I am pleased at the positive, welcoming response I am receiving from parishioners, students and parents. God will bless us as we move through yet another challenge of keeping Catholic education alive.”

Dominican sisters have ministered at St. Peter Catholic School since 1931. For more information about the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, visit their web site at www.springfieldop.org.